Darksiders review

"It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine" sang R.E.M on their 1987 single. They clearly have never had to deal with being betrayed by heaven and hell, as has War, Darksiders' protagonist. One of the four horsemen of the apocalypse, whose purpose of existence is to maintain the balance between these warring factions, War is duly dispatched to the earth when all hell literally breaks out, to keep an eye on the battlefield.

But War finds himself betrayed and defeated -- it turns out that the apocalypse happened against the rules set down by The Charred Council, War's employers, meaning he's culpable for intervening and blamed for the destruction of mankind. Given one last chance to prove his innocence, he's sent back to Earth a century after the apocalypse to battle the Destroyer, the leader of the hellish demons he blames for his downfall.

This utterly ludicrous, but strangely engaging, plot is serviced by Darksiders' gameplay, which proves to be an absolute joy to experience. Part hack-and-slash and part exploration, the mechanics are immersive and varied enough to keep you playing through all 15-20 hours. This is Texas developer Vigil Games' first effort, but my main worry with this game is that it'll be largely ignored due to its very early release date and the fact it clashes with the much talked about Bayonetta. Although Darksiders is a very different game from Sega's bewitching action game, it essentially falls into the same genre and will be most likely be wrongly overlooked by most gamers.

The first hour or two of the game bring an enjoyable if somewhat underwhelming experience. The visuals and colours are a little drab and grey for the first few hours, but after a meeting with an imprisoned demon named Samael (whose aims to conquer the Destroyer are similar to your own), the action really picks up. Bright and colourful scenery, epic castles and beautiful vistas combined with strong, if clichéd, character design and some epic old school boss battles make the remainder of the game a memorable adventure. There are some RPG elements thrown in and the levelling up of weapons and wrath abilities (essentially magical powers to help out in combat) gives the game a lot of depth.

The controls in combat are suitably responsive and switching between swords and scythes can be done at the press of a button, allowing you to take down multiple enemies at once. Extra moves can be purchased at the in-game shop (presented by the excellently creepy demon Vulgrim), along with other power-ups. Playing a few hours of the game will unlock the chaos mode, a sporadically used ability that turns War into a giant demon momentarily, and in doing so makes him invulnerable and considerably stronger. Other items and power-ups are rewarded as the story progresses, with good pacing throughout most of the game. Some of the puzzles are drawn out and get a little repetitive in the last act of the game, but not to the extent of frustration or wanting to put the controller down.

Much has been made about this game's lack of originality, especially concerning its similarity to games like God of War and Legend of Zelda. It doesn't so much wear its influences on its sleeve but shoves them right in the player's face. I almost laughed out loud later on in the game, when War gets control of a weapon that shoots the same colour orange and blue portals as Valve's puzzler, Portal. But does any of this distract from the game play, though? Not at all. You can barely accuse Vigil Games of ripping off other products when they've made it so obvious that it's clearly made in tribute. If they keep copying titles of such high calibre, long may they continue to release such joyous games.

Wired:Good balance of combat and puzzles. Fresh take on post-apocalyptic landscape

Tired:Walks a thin line between plagiarism and nodding to its influences. Minor screen tearing issues.